An explanation of the subject/contents of the document
This document mainly pertains to Samuel, the writer of the letter, and how he is dealing with every day life in the Civil War. He explains why he has not sent the money home that he recieves for his war duties; being one of many Samuel North's, S.W. North, he got mixed up with other soldiers with the same name. However, he mentions that once his service has been completed, he will recieve six months pay at that time. The second half of his letter talks about an encounter with the enemy of the war. The suprising outcome of this encounter however was a good one. He briefly talks about the encounter, saying how they had brought them corn stalks and a paper (the Richmond Examiner) talking about the war. The letter ended with a request for more postage stamps to keep in contact.
*Analysis
In this letter, I was interested in how realistic it felt to read it. I literally felt as if I were the person whom the letter had been sent to and I was an outsider looking in on the action of the war. When Samuel wrote about having a friendly encounter with the enemy of the war, it really suprised me to read that. From the history books and generations of talk about the Civil War, everyone always makes it seem as if the war was constant fighting. To read that there happened to be friendly encounters between the enemies, that explains the war to be that much more real to me. Due to the talk about the encounter, Samuel didn't seem to come across as bias. There happened to be some mention of moving towards various towns, however, there was not enough information to process any main battles of the war. One question that does remain in my mind is did the friendly encounters with the enemy continuously happen or did they eventually end up in arousals? I just wonder seeing that eventually the war had hitten a climax, if some people choose to look past that or if not all good things come to an end. With the phrase, "they are on good terms with our boys..." (Henninger), that made me realize just how much the effect of the war had on the soldiers. It must of not took a lot to see comparisons of the sides and their fighting factors, especially when they began to have good relations.
Citation
Henninger, Sally. "Valley Personal Papers." The Valley of the Shadow. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 1997. Web. 17 Dec 2010. http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/F0665.
Newspaper Articles
Author
W.H. Russel
Date
July 13, 1861
Title
A Slave Auction at the South
Place of Origin
Montgomery, Alabama
Breif Summary
This article is a realistic overview of what Russel witnessed at a slave auction in Montgomery, Alabama. He continuously stated details of the two slaves that were being auctioned off in the town and the emotional impact he recieved just from the look on their faces. The main point that he addressed and continued to touch base on was the prices that the slaves were being sold for. He just couldn't accept the fact of plain, simple lives being sold for that "cheap". While saying this, he makes it clear that he is a white man with no slavery attachment ties.
*Analysis
With this article, as a white author looking in on the scene of a black slave being sold, even he was effected emotionally. His emotions were especially expresssed when he continued to state, "I am neither sentimentalist nor Black Republican, nor negro-worshiper, but I confess the sight caused a strange thrill through my heart." (Russel) This quote reveals just how the conditions of life for slaves could even effect a white man who has no connection to the hazy world going on around him. This actually suprised me because it wasn't really normal for a white man to feel any sympathy for a black man at this point in time. This opened my eyes and probably the writer as well that even the blacks were human to everyone else and didn't deserve to be sold for money and labor. So, I didn't necessarily feel that the writer was being biased in the article, just more of having an eye opening factor in his life. One question that had automatically popped into my head when I did realize the moral of this article was if Russel's feelings had changed regarding the Civil War being fought at the time? He said himself that he was not a worshiper of the blacks, but due to his emotions that overcame him seeing this scene and just how cheap the slaves were being sold for, it could have possibly made a huge impact on how he then looked at the war.
This image is showing a a Zouave ambulance crew removing wounded soldiers from field battles.
*Analysis
This image interested me in the sense of how they used horses to transport wounded victims to a healing site. Even though horses were used for most of transportation processes, it still surprised me how they were able to successfully get them through the fields. The dominant feature that stands out to me most in this image is the wagon as the ambulance. In our society today, if that was the case for our transportation to a hospital or emergency area, the likelyhood of the injured would most definetly not turn out well. Seeing that this image shows the wounded of the war, it is obvious that this photograph was taken during a certain battle during the outbreaks of fights that were becoming common. One main question that I have from this image is if these ambulances were successful in saving many of the wounded men's lives? Also, I continue to wonder if even during battle, if the ambulances were seen getting the wounded if they were attacked? I am not sure of the rules for battle, but I would like to imagine that they would not shoot at those who were already down.
The message of this song states the opinion of the Union and how they are trying to gain freedom for the slaves. They are crying out to "battle" for their freedom. Through the lyrics, it is strongly imposed that they will continue to fight for the men who do not have freedom in America. The song even goes on as far as to say that they will continue to fill battle with thousands replacing those who fell before them so they earn their rights as people. The only main problem that was addressed with the lyrics of the song was the fact about how the Union was so unhappy with slavery. The great part about it was that they were expressing just how willingly they were going to give their lives for the blacks. Due to the time period this was in, it is obvious that this song was written while the battles of the Civil War were taking place. However, I am wondering what the reactions were once the Confederates heard this song? I especially would like to see their reactions when they hear the part of the song that sings, "And altho' he may be poor he shall never be a slave, shouting the battle cry of Freedom." (Root) This probably angered the confederates to a full extent because they did not believe that blacks had any rights as a human at all. But I continue to acknowledge this song as a success because I like how the Union put up such a fight for the black's rights through the lyrics.
Citation
Root, George F. "The Battle Cry of Freedom." Rec. 1862. The Music of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Public Domain Music. Dover Publications, Oct.-Nov. 2007. Web. 22 Dec. 2010. http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar.html
Newspaper Articles
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1861/july/auction-slaves.htm
Images
http://www.wildwestweb.net/cwp/cwp16a.jpg
Song Lyrics
http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar.html